Southern Partners Fund Quits Wells Fargo Bank in Response to Department of Justice $234.3 Million Settlement Agreement in U.S. v. Wells Fargo NA
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 30, 2013 -- This month, after more than a decade of banking with Wells Fargo, SPF has decided that Wells Fargo is no longer deserving of our continued support. Under direction from its Board of Trustees, SPF moved all of its accounts from the bank to a community bank with strong capitalization, an excellent community investment reputation and a high level of responsiveness to customer needs.
In the settlement agreement the U.S. Justice Department complaint alleged that "Wells Fargo discriminated by steering approximately 8,000 African-American and Hispanic wholesale and retail borrowers into subprime mortgages when non-Hispanic white borrowers with similar credit profiles received prime loans". The complaint also alleges that between 2004 and 2009 Wells Fargo discriminated by charging approximately 30,000 African-American and Hispanic wholesale borrowers higher fees and rates than non-Hispanic white borrowers because of their race or national origin rather than the borrowers' credit worthiness or other objective criteria related to borrower risk. http://www.justice.gov/crt/spec_topics/wellsfargo/
On April 25, 2013, Independent Settlement Administrator Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. (Epiq) began mailing letters to borrowers whom the United States has identified as entitled to payments from the $234.3 million Wells Fargo lending discrimination settlement fund (United States v Wells Fargo Bank, NA - D.D.C., July 2012, cv12-1150 ).
“The very people we represent and support with our grants – farm workers, small farmers, low and moderate income homeowners and renters, those seeking small business loans for new start-ups or support for higher education – these individuals are at best ignored, and at worst exploited by the alleged actions of Wells Fargo,” said SPF Interim Executive Director, Ron White. “We strongly urge community minded individuals, other foundations and religious institutions that have not yet reviewed the settlement agreement to do so and join us by investing their funds in more socially responsible community banks and credit unions.”
Since its creation in 1998, SPF has awarded more than $12 million to grassroots groups in the rural South.
“We work with diverse communities that embody the legacy of struggle, and the future of social change and community-based institutional development in the rural South,” said White.
Southern Partners Fund is a 501(c) (3) public foundation created to serve grassroots organizations throughout the Southeastern U.S. The organization supports work in more than 200 rural communities across 12 states; Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Our Mission is to support rural Southern communities and organizations seeking social, economic, and environmental justice by providing them with financial resources, technical assistance and training, and access to systems of information and power to shift the balance of power in their communities.
Want to learn more or contribute to Southern Partners Fund’s effort to advance social change in the rural South? Visit us at: http://www.spfund.org. Donate online.
Rose Johnson, Southern Partners Fund, http://www.spfund.org, 404-541-9091 124, [email protected]
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